Ready to Read: Literacy Tips for Babies

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"There is nothing so amazing as the development of a child," says Suzanne Dixon, M.D., a behavioral and developmental pediatrician who was one of the founding members of the Pampers Parenting Network. "Every day is a new adventure when you have a child around you. I never get tired of learning from the children who have been a part of my life, professionally and personally."Suzanne Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and then completed a fellowship in Child Development at Boston's Children's Hospital. Dr. Dixon joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and did patient care, teaching, and research for 20 years. She ran a large newborn service, performed research in early child development, and was involved in many community outreach activities in maternal child health. Throughout her entire professional life she has maintained an interest in cross-cultural activities, living and working in many parts of the world, including Mexico, India, Kenya, Indonesia, and several countries from the former U.S.S.R. Dr. Dixon is the author of numerous research articles, review articles, and textbook chapters in pediatrics, child and family development, and public health. Her textbook, written with Dr. Martin Stein, Encounters With Children: Pediatric Behavior and Development, has become a classic in child health education and is in its fourth edition. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, an international journal of high standing in the professional world. She also has served as an associate editor for Infant Mental Health and currently reviews for several major pediatric journals. Dr. Dixon is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served in national positions in that organization. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Public Health Association, and the Executive Council of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She serves as consultant to several national and international organizations and has received an award from Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.Dr. Dixon continues to lecture and consult worldwide on aspects of maternal, child, and family health. She practices behavioral and developmental pediatrics in Montana and works with local advocacy groups on education and women''s health. Dr. Dixon has been married for over 30 years and has three sons. She and her husband travel frequently, are outdoor enthusiasts, and enjoy being amateur anthropologists.

The road to reading starts in infancy, when children acquire a love of words, an excitement about storytelling, and the wonder of sharing life's experience with loved ones using words. Family members can nurture the joy of reading through activities that build these skills and interests. Here are some tips for making reading a central part of your child's life:

Talk to your baby. Use your face and voice to tell her all about the world and herself. Pick a time when she is quiet and alert, and just start talking. She knows the sound and rhythm of your voice, having listened to it before birth. Now help her connect those sounds to interaction with the world.

Echo what your baby says. Coo back to her when she makes those delicious little sounds. She's learning that sounds can make the world react and that words have power.

Become a news commentator. Narrate your day to your baby, what you are doing with her, and even what you're reading in her presence. You're making connections between words and events; you're helping her learn the elements of a story.

Label things. As you care for your baby, make a point of saying her name and naming her body parts, her clothes, and her gear. Although the connections will take weeks to months, you're building the basics of language and literacy.

Look at picture books together. Beginning when your baby is about 6 months, introduce books as fun and exciting things. Accept your child's short attention span; each brief interaction is fostering a love of books.

Don't worry about your baby eating his books. Young infants learn about their world using their hands and mouth. Use heavy board books as your child's first books. If he chews on them a bit, don't worry. He'll soon figure out that there are other more interesting things to do with them, like look at the pictures. That's the first step toward reading.

Look, point, then name. Young infants and toddlers start out their literary lives by first learning to turn the pages, then looking at the pictures generally, then looking at pictures as the images are named, then pointing at the named pictures, and finally naming the pictures themselves. Where is your child on that road? Can you prompt him to do the next step? You can't push him if he isn't ready, but you will be able to support him to move ahead if he's reached readiness.

Pack a book. Tuck a storybook or two in the diaper bag and in the car for the older infant and toddler. The habit of filling in life's spaces with books and always having them handy helps a child see them as a regular part of life.

Learn rhymes and songs. Children experiment with the sounds of language with rhyme, which builds their interest in words and sounds. Rhymes with gestures help to link actions with the action words. Poetry for children also builds this awareness and love of language.

Give books. Give every child you know a book for every occasion, and then look at it together. Keep that home library in a special but accessible place.

Tell bedtime stories. Make stories, both those read aloud and the ones you tell, part of the bedtime ritual from infancy on. Never take away the bedtime story as a punishment; it should be kept sacred.

Don't let the sun set on a book-free day. Make books part of every day with your child. Don't let a day go by without reading a book, a poem, or a story.

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